As of March 2013, there were 9,153,973 people displaced in Burundi, (eastern) DRC, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. This represents an increase of 638,663 people since the end of September 2012. Of the current total displaced population, 2,012,531 are refugees and 7,141,442 are internally displaced persons (IDPs) and people severely affected by conflict.

IDPs in the region are mainly a result of internal armed conflicts and insecurity. Additionally, some IDPs result from various difficult climatic conditions such as flooding, drought and landslides. IDPs resulting from natural disasters are however usually temporary and their estimates are not readily available. DRC, Sudan and Somalia continue to host the highest number of IDPs and persons severely affected by conflict at an estimated 2.59 million, 2.50 million and 1.11 million people, respectively. Eastern DRC has witnessed frequent and widespread fighting especially in late 2012, resulting mainly from clashes between the Government and various armed groups operating in the region. During the last six months, the IDP population in DRC has increased by more than 150,000 people, with most of the displacements being in North Kivu Province, which hosts more than one third (920,784 people) of the entire IDP population in eastern DRC. The insecurity in DRC has further compelled an estimated 90,000 to flee into Burundi, Uganda, and Rwanda in the six months covered by this report.
The IDP population in Somalia has reduced by 254,000 individuals, from 1.36 million people in September 2012.
This is attributed to improved security in Somalia, which has facilitated greater access and verification of IDP populations. Sudan continued to experience significant deterioration of security arising from resource-based conflicts and clashes between armed opposition groups and the Sudanese Armed Forces and armed militias. More than 1.4 million IDPs continue to receive food assistance in camps in Darfur, while another 1.1 million are displaced or severely affected by fighting in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States, according to estimates from the Government of Sudan and the Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (SRRA).
The International Office of Migration (IOM) is currently monitoring internal displacements in Ethiopia and at the end of March 2013 released a quarterly report indicating the country was host to some 313,560 IDPs, of whom an estimated 80,000 were displaced in 2013.1 The IDP populations in Kenya and Uganda remain unchanged as no new verification of the population was undertaken during the reporting period. Significant progress has however been made in the protection and resettlement of IDPs in both Kenya and Uganda.